Brake-beam.



E. BAUER @L W. E.' FOWLER, JR. BRAKE BEAM. l APPLICATION FILED MM, 1s, 1910.

9,643 mmm Feb. 21, 19m.

UNITED STATES PATENT -OFFICE. i

E. BAUER-AND WILLIAM EDWARD FOIVLER, JR., OF HAMMOND, INDIANA, ASSIGNORS TO SIMPLEX RAILWAY APPLIANCE COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS,

" A CORPORATION or ILLINOIS.

To 'all whom it may concern.:

`vBe it known that we, CARL E. BAUER and? WILLIAM E. FowLER, Jr., both of Hammond,- county of Lake, and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements 'n Brake-Beams, of which the Afollowingifvizspecification.

Our inveitlon relates to brake Vbeams of the trusfsed typeand has particular reference to brake beams wherein the compression member 1s channel shaped and formed' of cast metal and the tension member is inthe form of a rod, thesetwo parts being separated at their middle by a 'fulcrum. In

view of thegreat weight of the present day railway passenger ltrains and, thehigh speed attained thereby, it is necessary. at times to apply the brakes with promptness and great force, and for that reason brake beams must be furnished in which there shall be no appreciable deflection. It will be understood that the;force de-` rived from the air brake cylinders ofav carbraking system is largely multiplied by means of levers; that is to say, the air brake piston' travels much faster than the brake heads and shoes which are applied directly can be applied .to the wheels.

to the wheel. Therefore, any slight amount of deflection of the brake beams makes necessary an increased amount of travel of the air brake piston before the full force of the air For that reason, it is desirable that there should be no deflection in the brake beam. Furthermore, in' the application of inside hung brake beams-that is, beams which are placed between instead of on the outside of the wheels-there is a limited amount of space, and as it is desirable in brake beams of this type that they should have adjustable heads, it has been found dilicult to provide suflicient room. Y

The'objects ofour invention therefore, are to provide a beamfwhich shall have. a compressionnnembeitf great rigidityA and stiffness andlwhich shall be so constructed at its Specification of Letters Patent.`

BRAKE-BEAM.

Patented Fel). 21, 1911.

Application led March 19, 1910. Serial No. 550,466.

partly in section, of a-.brake beam constructed in accordance with our invention; Fig. 2 is a modihcation of the form shown 1n Fig. 1; Fig. 3 1s anl end view showing an adjustable head applied to our limproved brakebeam, and Fig. 4 is a `fragmentary perspective View of the end of our improved brake beam.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, it will be seen that the compression member, 10, of our brake beam is ofgenerally channel shape, preferably formed of cast steel, and terminates in thev rounded used to unite the compression and tension members and which provides ak bearing for the rotatable and adjustable head. Integral with and extending between the flanges of lthe channel, 10, is a downwardly projecting hollow boss, 12, having a contracted opening, 13, anda slightly larger bottom opening, 14. Therounded end, 11, of the compression member is provided with a squared portion, 15, having a concentric opening, 16. Extending at right angles tothe flanges of the channel and integral therewith, is aflange, 17. having adjusting holes, 18. Se-

end, 1l, this endforming a sleeve commonly cured to the middle portion of the compression member by means of rivets, 19,1through the web of the channel and rivets, 20, through the ianges thereof, is a fulcrum or strut, 21.` As shown. the rivets, 20, are

secured through the flanges on different sides of the transverse axis ofthe compression member to avoid the possibility of weakening the same. The tension member of the beam is composed of the bolts, 22-23, having integral heads, 24g- 25, and the bent member', 26, all of the three parts, 22`23 and 26, having threaded ends. These ends are joined by means of the sleeve nuts or turn-buckles, 2728. As will be seen. the bolts, 22-23, may be placed in the hollow bosses, 12, through the opening, 14, in the bottom thereof, the opening, 13, being only large enough to accommodate the shank por-A tion of the bolts, 22-23. and preventing they -withdrawal therethrough of the heads,

24-25- When the fulcrum, 21, has been. secured to the compression member, the bolts, 22-23, are placed within the bosses, 12, the central member, 26, threaded through 'the opening in the fulcrum, 21, andthe sleeve nuts, 2 7-28, applied and turned until the parts are all rigid. We have shown tightening would tend to throw the ful-- crum, 21, out of alinement because of the lcontactof the central or apex portion of the member, 26, therewith. It is obvious, hoW.-v

ever, that one sleeve nut'might be used instead ot' two.

vOn the right hand end of Fig. 1 and in' Fig. 3, we have shown a form' of adjustable 'brake head which is adapted for use with our invention. This comprises a head proper, '29, and an outer collar, 30. This collar, 30, has 'a squared depression, 31, adapted to lit over the squared portion, 15, on the end of the integral sleeve, 11. This collar, 30, has perforations, 32, registering with the perforations, 18, on the flange, 17, which is integral with `the compression member, 10. The. said collar is 'secured to the beam by means of a bolt, 33, nut, 34, and'nut lock, 35. The brake head, Q9, is provided with perforations, 36, laid out on diiferent centers from the'pertorations, 32 and 18, this permitting a comparatively fine adjustment of the head, 29, as in practically all opera.- tive positions of the head, some of the different holes will be in register. A' large cotter, 37, is used for securing the head in its adjusted positions. In Fig. 2 we have shown a somewhat similar construction, except that the compressionmember, 10, has openings, BS, through its web near its ends. and the bolts. 92-22 are threaded therethrough from the top instead ot' from the bottom, as shown in Fig. l. This construction may be found advantageous in some instances, as

a slightly shorter and therefore stronger trussis secured. l It is obvious. that various modifications of our invention will readilyT suggest themselves to those skilled Ain the art, particularly in the form of the adjustable brake head,.the fulcrum. etc., and we do not, therefore, limit ourselves to the precise' construction show in the drawings.

lVe claim: w

1. A brake beam composed of a compression member, a tension member anda middle support, said' compression member being formed of' cast metal and provided with integral trunnions, and integ al bearings for the ends of the tension member, said bearings being llocated at a point inside of the trunnions, substantially as described.

2. A brake beam comprising a channel compression membera rod tension member and a middle support, said rod having tight ening means thereon, said compression member having a circular4 bearing sleeve formed integral therewith, a brake head mounted upon said sleeve and means :t'or angularly adjusting said brake head upon said middle support, said compression member being channel shaped and having an integral brake head bearing surface, perforated lugs integral with said compression member and adapted to retain the heads of a rod tension member, substantially as described.

A brake beam of the class described, comprising a channel compression member,

a rod tension member and a middle support or strut, said'strutbeing secured to said compression member by rivets through the web and flanges of said compression. member, the rivets through the flanges being in staggered relation, substantially as described.

6. A compression member for a brake' beam formed of cast metal and having integral therewith, a bearing sleeve, an adjusting flange `and depending, perforated, tension rod attachinglugs, substantially as described. v

- 7. A channel shaped compression member foubrake beams; formed of cast metal and having integral therewith, a bearing sleeve land an' adjusting flange, the web of said channel being provided with tension rod receiving sockets, substantially as described.

8. A. brake beam "of the class described, comprising a compression member of channel iorin, a' rod tension memberand a middle support, said compression member haying an integral bearing sleeveprovided with a rod-head receiving socket and said ten'- sion rod having one or -more tightening nuts,

substantially as described.

` CARL E. BAUER.

WILLIAM EDWARD -FOWLER,. J it.

Witnesses: JOHN lV. hlAiTHLAND, JN0: F. Saumur. 

